Qi Jiao lifted the curtain of the teahouse. The teahouse was bustling with customers coming and going.
Yet, she spotted Pei Xia sitting upright in the crowd at a glance. With a slender waist and broad back, long eyebrows and red lips, his fingers holding the teacup were long and full of strength. He was frowning and looking at the hanging painting on the wall.
Some people, though of humble origin, simply couldn't hide their radiance.
Qi Jiao unconsciously curved her eyebrows slightly and lifted her lips. "Pei Xia."
Pei Xia shifted his gaze. Seeing Qi Jiao, his cold and stern features softened instantly.
Qi Jiao stepped forward. "I just got out. Have you been waiting long?"
Pei Xia naturally took her hand and put the bundles in Qi Jiao's hand into his bamboo basket. He said softly, "How could I? I've been sipping tea and having snacks here. It's been quite enjoyable. Are you hungry?"
Qi Jiao shook her head with a smile. "I ate a lot at the Guo Mansion."
Even so, Pei Xia still ordered a serving of fish dumplings and a serving of fried white sausage. He took out a vinegar dish for Qi Jiao to dip the food in.
"The signature snacks here are good. Have some. You had to meet people and handle affairs at the Guo's. How could you have a good meal?"
Seeing his thoughtfulness, and finding no one around, Qi Jiao quickly kissed Pei Xia on the cheek.
Then she picked up the chopsticks and started to eat slowly.
With a fish dumpling in her mouth, she watched Pei Xia's blushing face and felt extremely happy.
Qi Jiao told Pei Xia roughly what had happened at the Guo Mansion, only skipping the part about the third young master of the Guo family.
After they finished talking, they took their things and rushed to the Misty Rain Bridge.
It was already past noon and the morning market had dispersed. Qi Jiao planned to visit the Shu family, where they had done business before, to check the situation. Pei Xia had the same idea.
They followed the original route to the back door of the Shu family but didn't see Ding Zhu.
Pei Xia spent three copper coins and asked the young servant in black at the door to invite Aunt Mei out.
The young servant was quite efficient. After taking the money, he quickly went in and soon brought Aunt Mei out.
Aunt Mei saw Pei Xia and Qi Jiao from afar and exclaimed, "I thought you two wouldn't come to the city anymore. It's been so long."
Qi Jiao said with a smile, "How have you been?"
Aunt Mei said she was fine. "The recipes you told me last time were really amazing! The fish I cooked according to them even got the old lady's approval. I really have to thank you!"
Since the old lady had an appetite for the fish, Aunt Mei had received a lot of benefits. She had tried to find Qi Jiao but to no avail.
Unexpectedly, after such a long time, the girl finally came again.
She suppressed her excitement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bamboo baskets behind Qi Jiao and Pei Xia. "What good things have you brought today?"
Pei Xia opened the bamboo basket. Qi Jiao carefully took out the egg yolk pastries and unwrapped the oil paper. "We haven't been here these days because we've been busy making snacks. The filling of these pastries is made of salted duck eggs. We've tried many recipes, and our family and neighbors said they were good, so we dared to bring them to you. Whether you buy them or not, please try them first and see how they taste."
Seeing Qi Jiao's serious look, Aunt Mei's curiosity was piqued.
She quickly took one and tasted it carefully. Without saying much, she tasted the other flavors.
Qi Jiao looked at her with a smile. "How about it? Are you satisfied?"
Aunt Mei wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said straightforwardly, "Name your price. I'll take them all!"
Qi Jiao smiled and secretly gave Pei Xia a look.
Pei Xia immediately said, "You're a regular customer. The egg yolk pastries are eight wen each, and the other two kinds of snacks are six wen each."
Aunt Mei raised her eyebrows. "Why are they so expensive?"
Pei Xia said, "Don't be afraid, Aunt Mei. These things are really difficult to make. My wife has spent a lot of time and effort. The raw materials are all natural sea duck eggs. She has put a great deal of effort into them. Even the Guo family ordered some after trying them once."
The price they offered to the villagers was just the cost price, but it was different in the county.
Not to mention the time and effort spent on the way from Yinwan to the city, these were all made by Jiao Niang with hard work. There were also few of them, so they couldn't be sold cheaply.
Anyway, the Shu family wasn't short of money.
Citing the example of the Guo family, Aunt Mei didn't want the Shu family to be left behind. "The Guo family also bought them?"
Qi Jiao nodded. "The eldest miss of the Guo family is very filial. She bought them for her parents."
While Aunt Mei was hesitating for a couple of seconds, Qi Jiao had already stuffed a packet of snacks into her hand and said with a smile, "This is a special gift for you, Aunt Mei. You can have it as a snack when you're free."
Seeing her so sensible, Aunt Mei had nothing more to say. She willingly took out her purse and paid the money.
Pei Xia quickly calculated the bill and rounded it down. It was a straightforward transaction.
The snacks were all wrapped in oil paper and tied with ropes of different colors for classification. They looked clean and organized.
Aunt Mei immediately thought that it was only right for this young couple to make money.
When leaving, Aunt Mei asked how to contact them again.
Qi Jiao replied, "If your family likes the snacks, you can ask Ye Erlang from the carriage firm to send a message. I'll make them and deliver them."
"Okay."
Aunt Mei told the young servant to take the snacks well, waved to Qi Jiao, and then rushed into the mansion to present them to the master.
The snacks were sold for a total of seven hundred wen.
Pei Xia strung the money together with a thin rope and gave it to Qi Jiao.
Qi Jiao held the money and felt the joy of counting it. Looking at the noisy shops on both sides of the street, she suddenly had the urge to go shopping.
"Pei Xia, let's go! Go shopping!"
The last time Qi Jiao came to the county, she hadn't had a good time shopping.
This time, they had successfully sold out all the snacks and had nothing else to do. So she pulled Pei Xia to start shopping.
Pei Xia laughed but followed her wishes.
Qi Jiao had brought enough silver when she went out, just in case she couldn't resist shopping.
Among the necessities of life, clothing ranked first.
Qi Jiao straightforwardly bought twenty catties of cotton and various kinds of new cloth to make cotton-padded clothes for the whole family.
Since she couldn't sew clothes for Pei Xia herself, Qi Jiao didn't allow him to refuse. She bought him a crab-shell blue robe and a silver crown. When he dressed up and walked on the street, he was like a dazzling gem, attracting the attention of countless young ladies.
When the young ladies saw Qi Jiao beside Pei Xia, their hearts were instantly broken.
Pei Xia held Qi Jiao's fair hand and walked through the street. He felt that the usually long journey had suddenly become shorter.
Even though his palm was sweating slightly, he didn't want to let go of her hand.
Qi Jiao couldn't help laughing. She took out the yellow handkerchief from her waist and stuffed it between their hands, then held his hand again.
Pei Xia paused and looked down. He felt full of joy.
It turned out that being with the girl he admired was such a wonderful feeling. Even the most trivial thing could become extremely beautiful.
Time passed, and soon it was the Winter Solstice.
Oysters were the fattest from the Winter Solstice to the Tomb-Sweeping Festival.
The saying "oysters in cold water, clams in warm water" meant that oysters were plump and suitable for eating in cold weather.
Different from clams, which were the fattest in the hot summer, the period from the Winter Solstice to the Tomb-Sweeping Festival was the best time to eat oysters.
Following the season, Qi Jiao went out with Pei Xia to the beach on this day.